Springtime 2023

Hooperhart

It might not feel like it right now due to the current wintry weather but springtime is just around the corner! The clocks will be going forward soon, bringing brighter and lighter days and lots to look forward to.

The first thing I want to tell you about is The Big Spring Bash at St Andrews Botanic Garden: ‘an action-packed weekend of interactive activities, workshops, live music and local food & drink’ PLUS a makers’ market showcasing some gorgeous local art, craft and design:

The Urban Market is in St Andrews Botanic Garden on March 25th & 26th March, and I will be there on the Saturday, 12pm – 4pm. Being a celebration of springtime, I’ll be taking lots of my flora and fauna themed work, including my bestselling wooden brooches with their super-cute new backing cards!

Inspired by Nature

Admission to the whole of the Big Spring Bash is £12 (adults) & £8 (children) and tickets are available from the Botanic Garden website

In other news I’m very excited to report I’ve received funding from VACMA – Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards – to undertake a small personal project. It will be research project on a subject which has long been on my mind…I’ll reveal more once I get started!

One more piece of big news before I go: the phenomenally popular Perthshire Open Studios is back after a year’s hiatus and I’m taking part! It will run from September 6th–11th 2023 and although I might be studio-less right now, I will have something organised for September…it’s good to set yourself challenges once in a while!

Thanks for reading and roll on springtime!

Hello February!

Hooperhart

I don’t know about you but I’m usually quite relieved to get January out of the way and this year is no exception. February feels to me like the start of the year proper, so to celebrate I’m offering free postage on everything in my HooperHart Folksy and Etsy stores! No need for a discount code – zero postage has already been applied, and will continue for the whole month.

Dream Wheels

A wee update on what I’ve been up to as Rudy and the Rowan Tree, the offshoot I use as a place to experiment and try out ideas which are unrelated to my Hooperhart work, and often more playful – I love creating my HooperHart pieces incidentally, but sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a bit! I’m currently loving making spirograph-inspired hanging decorations using embroidery thread and wooden discs – I call them Dream Wheels and you can find them on Folksy and Etsy Free postage also applies to my Rudy and the Rowan Tree stores for the whole of February!

Gift vouchers are go!

In other news, I wanted to draw your attention to my newly launched Gift Vouchers.They can be emailed directly to the recipient so make gifting super easy! They are exclusively available from my HooperHart Folksy store. There’s so many gorgeous products on there you might want to make it your go-to for gifts in the future though – all made in the UK to boot!

Thanks for reading and have a fabulous February!

Happy New Year Sale!

Hooperhart

Hello and a Happy New Year to you! I hope you all had a lovely festive season and are gently easing into 2023. My start to the year went a bit awry with our Hogmanay plans being stymied by heavy snow – of course it was the first year in a long time that we decided to venture outside! Let’s hope this is not indicative of the rest of 2023.Anyway, I usually like to kick off the New Year with some cheeky wee reductions to give things a bit of a boost, so I’m here to tell you about the HooperHart and Rudy and the Rowan Tree January sales!

For the whole of January you can get

20% off EVERYTHING

in HooperHart’s Folksy and Etsy stores

using the code: FAREWELL2022

And to make way for new work, there are a sizeable reductions on selected pieces in the

Rudy and the Rowan Tree Folksy store

(no code needed)

January and February are usually a quiet month and therefore a good opportunity to plan ahead and start new work – I’ve already got a list of things I want to get started on so watch this space!

Thanks for reading and all the best for 2022 x

Thank you!

Hooperhart

Well, that’s the busy season over for me for another year and I have to say it was rather frantic, but in a good way! Coming into it I was quite concerned about how it was going to go, particularly as online sales in 2022 had taken a worrying nose-dive even before the harsh reality of the Cost of Living Crisis started to kick in. However I’m pleased and relieved to report that I was very pleasantly surprised (on some occasions completely gobsmacked!) at just how many people turned out to support local events and small creative businesses. Maybe this year folk are really considering carefully how they spend their money and who they spend it with, possibly buying less but buying thoughtfully…I don’t know but whatever it is I am extremely grateful!

There is no doubt that many challenges lie ahead for most of us financially in 2023; the price of everything is rising and there can’t be a single small business in the UK who will not be affected by this. For myself, production costs have already increased substantially over the past few months…this plus a countrywide shortage of my main material (plywood) has been preying on my mind, and I know that at some point soon I will have to sit down and seriously consider how I can make changes in order to continue doing what I love and what I have worked so hard to develop over the past six years. Looking on the bright side, reflection and re-evaluation are not usually a bad thing, so I’m hopeful I can up with a workable plan!

Whatever happens I will be back next year with news of what I’m up to…in the meantime check out the sale in my Folksy shop – starting on Boxing Day!

I’ll take my leave with a massive THANK YOU to everyone who supported my artistic endeavours this year…I wish you happiness and good health this festive season!

Perth Museum & Kinkell Byre

Hooperhart

Ooofftt! Another busy weekend (a huge thank you to the people of Perth and the team at Perth Creative Exchange) to be followed by 5 days of panicked making! But I’m on the home stretch now with my last two events of the season this week.

On Thursday December 8th I’m returning to Perth Museum and Gallery for the 2nd Christmas shopping evening. Last time was a very civilised affair with mulled wine, minced pies and a choir singing carols (some in Gaelic- a beautiful backdrop).

Then on Saturday and Sunday is the Kinkell Byre Christmas Market near St Andrews. In addition to an array of gorgeous art, design, craft there will be street food and refreshments available. This looks like a gorgeous venue with spectacular sea views so the perfect place for a spot of coastal Christmas shopping.

Hope to see you there!

The Barn Gallery & Creative Exchange, Perth

Hooperhart

Another weekend gone, and we’re on to the next upcoming events! Saturday, December 3rd sees the opening of an eclectic Christmas show at the beautiful Barn Gallery at the Bield in Blackruthven.

I was part of an exhibition at this gallery 5 years ago and it’s really lovely, tucked away in gorgeous surroundings near Tibbermore in Perthshire. There will be 16 artists displaying a mix of Craft Fair and Exhibition style work, ranging from Christmas decorations to sculpture, painting, jewellery, stone carving, heritage knits, stained glass and woodwork. Opening hours are 10-4.30 (closed Mondays) and homebaking and hot drinks will be available on weekends!

Also this weekend you can find me at Creative Exchange’s Winter Market in Perth:

Creative Exchange is part of WASPS and the artists will be opening their studios around the building in addition to the market on the ground floor. Entry is free and there will be a pop-up cafe so if you’re in the Perth area pop along from 10-4 Saturday and Sunday.

Another busy week of making awaits!

TTFN 🙂

Perth Museum & Art Gallery and The Yard

Hooperhart

Hello again! After an extremely busy weekend at Glasgow’s Kibble Palace (5000 visitors in total!) I’m back to quickly let you know what I’m up to over the next few days. On Thursday the 24th you can find me at Perth Museum & Art Gallery for a Christmas Shopping Evening

As well as selected art and craft from around Perthshire there will be free mulled wine, mince pies and entertainment, so if you’re in Perth pop along between 4-7.30pm.

On Sunday November 27th I am taking a break from HooperHart and returning to The Yard as Rudy and the Rowan Tree! I first did this market back in May, and it’s a wee gem, tucked away in a hidden courtyard. There’ll be the usual craft stalls, street food and live music so it will make for a fun day out as well as an ideal place to start ticking off your gift list. It’s also dog friendly so join us from 11-4 on Sunday.

Ice Factory, Perth

Well, time to get back to the making or I won’t have much in the way of stock for these events!

Thanks for reading and TTFN 🙂

Double Door & Kibble Palace

Hooperhart

I’ve got lots going on again this week so I’m starting with a very quick heads-up on the events front!

This Thursday evening the Double Door Festive Boutique in Dundee begins with an invite-only preview followed by selected opening times which can be viewed and booked on their website

There will be a gorgeous selection of work by Scottish designers and makers including art, jewellery, ceramics, glass, textiles, prints, cards, candles and cosmetics. Entry is free and you have until the 22nd of December to pop along!

My second event of the week is with Tea Green once again, and it’s returning for the first time since 2019 to the place of my birth – Glasgow! The venue is Kibble Palace in the city’s Botanic Gardens and you can find me there on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20th from 10-4.

I’ll be back with more news next week but in the meantime you can find details of all my upcoming events on my ‘Shop’ page. TTFN!

Tea Green at Bowhouse

Hooperhart

I might have mentioned that it’s all hands on deck here at HooperHart Headquarters (okay, two hands…I only have two hands just in case you were wondering). Festive market season is in full effect with an event on every weekend until mid-December (not to mention a couple of Thursday evenings). Next up is the ever fabulous Tea Green Market Weekend at Bowhouse in St Monans, Fife. I’ll be there on Saturday, November 11th from 10am – 4pm.

After a very busy weekend at Blair Castle, I find myself in the fortunate but mildly stressful position of having to replenish pretty much everything in time for Saturday. I’m pleased to report my recently launched flower stems and double decorations were a hit, particularly the set of 3 Paint Your Own Flower Stems (possibly because they make a great gift which can be posted easily as a large letter); they are currently sold out so I’ve popped them in the Folksy shop as a pre-order listing with a two week turnaround. Fingers crossed I’ll have more decorations listed soon!

As ever there will be loads of totally top-notch contemporary Scottish craft, art and design, as well as a host of yummy fresh produce and street food at Bowhouse, so if you’re in the area pop along and say hi!

Bowhouse pictures: Visit Scotland, Love from the Scotland, Scotland the Bread

Exclusively Highlands at Blair Castle

Hooperhart

So somehow it’s November in four days’ time, and once again I am wondering how that happened (like I do every year). This means that the festive fair season will shortly begin in earnest, and this time it’s kicking off with a big one – the Blair Christmas Fair

Nestled in the breathtaking scenery of Highland Perthshire, venues don’t come much grander than Blair Castle and late autumn is the perfect time to visit. There will be 75 stalls of the finest Scottish arts, crafts and foods spread across the courtyard, ballroom and grand hall, so it’s the ideal place to start ticking off your Christmas shopping list whilst enjoying some glorious surroundings!

Grand Ballroom, Blair Castle

The fair runs from Friday 4th – Sunday 6th, 10am -4pm (children admitted free) and you can book tickets from the Atholl Estates website. Hope to see you there!